“在阴影下种咖啡”以替叶子生锈

[内罗毕]咖啡农民should grow the crop under shade to provide a conducivebeplay足球体育的微博一位专家说，对于可以控制真菌疾病叶生锈的寄生虫。

Coffee leaf rust, caused by the fungusHemileia vastrix，其特征是上叶表面上的黄色斑点和叶子下面的橙色粉状病变。被感染的叶子最终下降，降低了作物的产量和质量。

“阴影还为咖啡叶生锈的超寄生虫创造了有利的环境，我们需要最大程度beplay足球体育的微博地发挥这种潜力。”

斯德哥尔摩大学Beyene Zewdie

But astudyconducted in Ethiopia considered the origin of Arabica coffee, known scientifically as阿拉伯咖啡，表明，在被疾病感染的叶子上生长的天然敌人可能是帮助农民与之抗争的关键。

“The rust is a global challenge for coffee production,” says Beyene Zewdie, a co-author of the study and post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences at Stockholm University, Sweden, adding that it reduces coffee yields by up to 30 per cent.

According to the study published inAgriculture, Ecosystems and Environment本月（5月1日），研究人员分析了攻击它的锈蚀和真菌Lecanicillium lecanii。Observations were carried out from 2017 to 2019 during the wet and dry seasons in Southwestern Ethiopia.

“We found that coffee leaf rust was more severe during the dry season whereas the hyperparasite [parasite whose host is also a parasite orL. lecanii]在三年中的两年中的潮湿季节更加严重。”这项研究说。“在管理强度的情况下，在管理强度的情况下，生锈的发生率增加了，而在较少的管理下，高寄生虫更为普遍。”

Zewdie说，这项研究可以帮助阐明锈与超寄生虫之间的关系，并管理两者。

Zewdie告诉说：“我们还发现生锈和超寄生虫的环境需求有所不同。”beplay足球体育的微博scidev.net。“生锈可以在低水分条件下壮成长，而高寄生虫则有利于潮湿和阴影栖息地的区域。”

Zewdie说，研究区域中的大多数农民都认为咖啡叶是一种不太重要的疾病，因为尽管严重的咖啡叶锈病导致叶子滴落，但咖啡灌木通常在下一个潮湿季节会恢复叶子。

但是他警告说，叶子的损失可能会对植物的性能产生负面影响，并说阴影将有助于减轻损害。

他告诉他说：“咖啡需要阴影并在阴影下种植农作物可以缓冲咖啡灌木周围的微气候。”SciDev.Net。“阴影还为咖啡叶生锈的超寄生虫创造了一个有利的环境，我们需要最大beplay足球体育的微博程度地利用这种潜力，以利用高寄生虫的能力来抑制两个相互作用物种共同发生的区域的锈蚀。”

Bernard Mukiri Gichimu, a senior lecturer at Kenya’s University of Embu, Department of Agricultural Resource Management, who was not involved in the study, says that the findings could be important for farmers.

“The discovery ofL. lecanii作为自然环境中对抗咖啡锈菌真菌的高寄生虫是一个重大突破，可能在咖啡叶锈病的管理方面具有重大贡献。” Gichimu说。beplay足球体育的微博“随着气候变化，这种疾病变得更加破坏……即使在迄今已知易于这种疾病的地区也是如此。”

Mukiri adds that using the natural enemy to fight the disease may be preferable to fungicides which can fail to control the disease either due to poor quality or handling or resistance of the disease-causing agent to fungicide.

“Reduced use of fungicides will also reduce environmental污染which will be beneficial to the non-target organisms and safe to both the farmers and coffee consumers,” he says.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk。